Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Arthur Vermeeren from Royal Antwerp, with the player taking up the number 48 jersey for his new side. The youngster has signed a contract with the Rojiblancos until 2030, and the move is now official as per the club.

Antwerp will receive a fee worth €18 million up-front with €5 million available in the form of add-ons in total. They also have a sell-on clause in the deal, which allows them to receive 10% of any future selling fee received for the Belgian.

Arthur Vermeeren signs for Atletico Madrid from Antwerp

There was interest from Manchester United over a potential transfer as well, with the central midfielder one of the options for the club. But, the move to sign him never came through and Atletico won the race to sign an exciting young talent who could hold up their midfield in the years to come.

The 18-year-old has earned two caps for the Belgian national team already, and has a bright future ahead of him. After building his game around defensive actions last year, he has become a much more well-rounded central midfielder over the first half of the season.

A notable improvement has been seen in Arthur Vermeeren’s progressive passing, ball carrying and forward passing metrics. And with the experience of players like Koke and Saul Niguez to guide him under Diego Simeone, he could mature into a valuable asset for Atletico Madrid to add a new dimension to their team.